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March 22, 2018

Market NotesMarch 22, 2018

OH HOLY WEEK!

Wow, what a week for our structures. We begin this “Palm” Sunday on the 25th, obviously followed by Good Friday and this year the first Seder in the celebration of Pesach is the very next day. The very next day is Easter (All Fools’ Day), so the second Seder and Easter Dinner are the same day. Somehow that is very uniting and very cool. And it is a great culinary week as well. Feasts abound! Culinary is ready. From bitter herbs to carrots with good tops, we’ve got you covered. Need fresh orchids for each place setting? Need bitter herbs for your plate? Wanna be super-duper hip and offer meme starting CBD water? Please give us a call, we’ve got you covered. We also have all our standards readily available including all spring greens, fingerling potatoes, specialty tomatoes, tropical fruits, herbs, micros, carrots and beans. Air freight will tighten up big time by weeks end but we can Fed-Ex fresh ramps, fiddlehead ferns, morel mushrooms and claytonia to you or your customers dock, just in time.

OFFSHORE AND MORE

While the Central American rains have subsided, the holiday pull is strong so the demand for and price of asparagus remain high. Tarragon and Chervil, the most finicky of herbs are readily and now that the Hawaiian rains have calmed down we have basil coming out our ears. Carrots, a staple for all this week’s celebrations are in great supply. Whether orange, rainbow, baby, peeled, with tops or not, the entire category is on while quality and pricing are great. Even French beans, a seasonal item subject to price hike, are abundant and cheap. Blackberries and blueberries are also enjoying good arrivals. Most orders are FOB Miami and in many cases we can arrange delivery. Please reach out to your Culinary rep for details.

NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHAT AM I??

Like the onion, I have been around for so long (9000 years at least) that my mother, the original wild plant is gone. I have learned to adapt to many different growing conditions in the same way that I have learned to respond to many different names. From my immature leaves and shoots to my white, cream-colored or purple-gray flesh, most of me can be consumed. My prolific cultivation and harvest easily explain my use as a staple food throughout one third of this planet. Just to show off, we proved we could yield over 1,000 bushels on one acre of rich damp soil in just two years! That ought to leave a challenge for the rabbits. Although I have over 100 siblings and appear in shapes from oblong to round, we all come with thick brownish ringed skin that is rugged and hairy. I do require caution as I contain toxic crystals of calcium oxalate, a sticky juice, just beneath my skin that can produce an allergic reaction if direct contact is made. A simple solution is to use gloves or running water when peeling my skin. You will have to put on the heat to consume me as my leaves and roots contain an indigestible starch that is neutralized when cooked. I have a high starch content, a sweet taste often considered to have an artichoke-chestnut flavor, and can be used in the same way as a potato. I have been boiled and ground and fermented into poi, sliced, dried, and smoked as a traveling food, and wrapped in banana leaves when cooked in an umu pit. My leaves can be pureed, mixed with minced onion and coconut milk for umukai. I am rich in thiamin, Vitamin C and Potassium. Low in protein but rich in starch I am easily digested.